A Weekend in Amish Country ~ Part 1

Early Saturday morning, Chris and I left the children with their grandparents. We then headed off to Ohio for a weekend stay in Amish country. It was a three hour trip (thankfully, not *too* long).

We have Amish who live in our area....so it wasn't anything *new* to me but it was a chance to "get away" (although Saturday evening I was terribly homesick and missed the children immensely!).

I love clothes out on the line....especially the look of simple Amish clothing blowing in the breeze...

We stayed at the Hasseman House B & B (a gift from my parents for Christmas 2011). It was lovely...old-fashioned and simple. The innkeeper and his wife are both Christians with gentle and heart-warming charm. They homeschool their children too! Chris and I definitely plan on taking our children with us the next time we go. :)

Isn't it a beautiful place?

We stayed in the Boys' Room (of course, it was all much neater in there before we brought our things in!)...

The private bath connected to our room...

Sunday, basically nothing is open (although Chris and I *did* go to a wonderful museum that was open and also an ice cream shop!). We took a walk around the pond out back....

As we were coming around it, the chickens on the hill saw us (there are 600 of them) and started running toward the end of the fence closest to us...

See them all there, congregating near the fence? I think, like our chickens, they associate *people* with *food-bringers*. Lucky for them, an Amish man on a golf cart soon came driving over to feed them their vittles...

Back inside, here was the view from our bedroom windows...

While driving around...we saw some beautiful sites...

We ended up having a really nice time, despite my sadness and tears that first night. There are more things to show and to share about...but I'll save that for my next post! :o) I hope you'll come back and see more from our trip.

Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied,
Katy

Learning Through Play

Learning addition and subtraction for my Kindergartner just became a whole lot more fun! I found these fun set of dice from THIS etsy shop. I also got a die that has the addition and subtraction signs on it...so with a roll of the die, each time you have a fun, new problem to do. And when you get the same problem coming up amongst the rolls, it helps sear it into memory!

The etsy shop also has roman numeral die and chore die (she also has beautiful needle felted items there)! I thought that was pretty clever. Honestly, they don't seem like a difficult thing to make on your own, if you want...but I like to support small businesses that have handmade items!

Jaxson loves learning...so me just asking him problems at random times through the day was fine with him...but having this is a fun way to do things, as well. :)

Thank you for visiting!

 I hope you have a truly wonderful weekend ahead! 

Warmly,
Katy

New Living Room Curtains!

I am glad I can type this post out and not tell you this face-to-face (as I am probably bright red right now)...but I hung these curtains up without ironing them! I know...the shame of it all! ;) I was just so excited to see them that I didn't want to wait. I ordered them from a lady who sews them (although once I actually saw them, I realized how easily I could have sewn these up for myself).

They also have jute to tie them back...but I kind of like them just-like-this. I *tried* tying them back with the jute...but was having a terrible time of it...so I gave up. Perhaps one day, I will try again.

Putting up the primitive colonial swags encouraged me to start contemplating what I want to paint the living room. The walls are just awful...plaster falls from holes in it. It has overwhelmed me...the thought of redoing the walls to perfection (mudding, sanding, mudding sanding...and on and on)...finally, I realized I love old and imperfect looks. So, I am hoping to find some paint that I like (the ones with the primer already mixed in them so you don't have to do two different steps) and I am thinking, at some point this summer, I am going to move things out of there (or cover them) and give the walls a splash of color! :)

The curtains are unlined...which I am praying isn't a big mistake on my part....the cost to add liners was terribly high though. The living room only gets the evening sunlight...so I am hoping it won't fade them *too* much.

The curtains look better in person, than in photos. The light (as you can see in the photo above) really shows how the curtains need ironed **blushing**. I *will* iron them, really! I am now just really looking forward to giving the walls a good coat of cream-colored paint... :).

Right now, though, Chris and I are mapping out where the raised beds are going and how big they will be. He's going to get the wood to make them! I am really excited for it! :)

Lunchtime is quickly approaching. Schooling is complete for the day (as the year winds down for us) and I have been (and will continue) doing chores around the home. :) Hope you all enjoy your Thursday!

Warmly,
Katy

Updating My Window Stars!

My window stars are looking quite shabby. They were made almost two years ago. The sun has sucked most of the bright, beautiful colors out of them. You can see a previous photo (taken earlier this winter) above...the colors are so muted.

I decided it was time to make a few more. It will take me a while to replace all the now-sun-faded ones I have made over time...but I am working on it!

Do you want to make some window stars? HERE is a tutorial I made on how to do a 16-pointed star. HERE is the tutorial I used when I was first learning the 8-pointed star. **Although she dabs Elmers glue on super-carefully...I just use a glue-stick and am not quite as careful about it! ;) Honestly, if you experiment with different folding...you can come up with all kinds of beautiful creations!

Things are starting to look a lot more cheerful around here! 

Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied,
Katy

April *Snow* Showers?

It is the end of April and here in Western PA it's snowing. We are getting inches of snow! The only encouraging thing about this is that it will all be melting soon! I am ready to continue enjoying *real* spring weather!

We (the children and I) ran some errands for my mom, yesterday, as she was not feeling 100%. Madelyn stayed with her to keep her company all day while my dad was at work. The boys and I came home to work on school and housework. I also worked on some knitting and crocheting and made some whole-wheat bread...

I recently got an order from Mrs. Meyer's and Jaxson was excited to use the box to decorate and let his imagination soar! Honestly, I couldn't believe how well he *fit* into the box! It really wasn't a large box at all!

I finished the baby sweater I was knitting. All that is left to do is sew on three buttons! I am working on a hat to match it...

A closer look at the leaves along the top (this is the back)...

My crocheting is still a bit more simple than my knitting....although I am working at learning more with it. I started *and* finished a dish cloth yesterday...simple, but usable! :)

This gorgeous dish cloth (below) was a gift from my friend, Kelly. She is a very talented crocheter. She is attempting to help me (through the snail mail and also online) to learn some new crochet stitches!

Supper, last night, was chicken a la king on toast! Such a tasty, yet inexpensive meal! I made mashed potatoes and green beans to go along with it. What did you have for supper?

After supper was over and cleaned up, I lit some candles around the house and enjoyed the evening with my family. Then it was off to bed...to read, pray and fall fast asleep!

**If any of you were my friend on Facebook, if you haven't already noticed, I deactivated my account. I didn't delete anyone or anything...I just decided that it was such a time waster. I like keeping in contact with others...but I don't need to know *everything* about *everyone*. I felt convicted (about the time I could/did waste on it) and decided it was time to get off of it. I tried to leave a post explaining my point of view but when I deactivated, I think it disappeared (according to my sister). So I apologize if I seemed to have just disappeared...I just truly think it is for the best. :) Please feel free to email me or comment here, any time! I *am* thankful for your friendships!

I hope you all enjoy your Tuesday. Thanks, so much, for visiting!

Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied,
Katy

Eloise was under-the-weather...

 ...but don't worry! She is feeling much better now! On Friday, while talking with my mom during our morning chat, I found out that Eloise wasn't feeling well (she had been up a lot through the night, very clingy to her mom, crying and had a fever). Well, of course, this auntie (who loves the Squeezle oh-so-much) couldn't sit by and do nothing...so while the boys went to my dad's garage to *work*...Madelyn and I took a journey to my sister's house (who lives about an hour away).

When we got there (late morning) the little munchkin was still in her Minnie Mouse pajamas having breakfast in her high chair. As soon as Madelyn crossed the threshold of the back door, Eloise smiled (her first of the day, according to her mama)!

Despite lack of sleep...the Squeezle still had some energy to play with Madelyn. (And I think her sleepy mama, my sister, was grateful that Madelyn could spend the time playing with her)...

El in her favorite hat...

Look how tall she is getting!

Her poor little skin was so warm from the fever. Mad and I ran to the closest store and found some generic baby tylenol (as the regular baby tylenol had been recalled). It helped to lower her fever, thankfully.

Although in all these photos, Eloise is in her pj's...she *did* get changed into an outfit that afternoon...although she was less than thrilled with me for making her lay down to get her diaper changed and new clothes put on...so I let her mother finish! ;) It's funny....Eloise will furrow her eyebrows at me! She always makes me laugh!

She is feeling better now, thankfully! The one benefit to her little bit of sickness was that it gave Madelyn and I an excuse to go visit her! I know her mama enjoyed her snuggling more too (as mobile babies aren't always wanting to snuggle as much as they did pre-mobility!). Her mama did a great job loving her up, comforting her and rocking her to sleep. :) Oh how I miss those moments with my own sweet babies!

Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied,
Katy

Sun-Shiny Days at Home!

We have enjoyed some beautiful days of sunshine this past week (and are hoping for more in the days to come!). Today, it is raining...but we needed it, so we are all (okay, I shouldn't say *all* as the boys are disappointed they can't go out and play) content with having a *small*  break from the sunshine!

After schoolwork, my time is usually spent doing housework; dusting, sweeping, washing dishes and laundry, etc. I also do some reading and yarn work (knitting and crochet). I have so many books I desire to glean from...as well as many knit/crochet projects that I would like to make...that sometimes I feel overwhelmed! I always take the time to read my Bible though, as that is the *most* important words to soak in and learn from!

I enjoy staying busy, though. I don't like idleness. If there is something I can be doing...I want to *do* it! Even if we, as a family, are watching a program or movie...I like to be knitting or crocheting at the same time!

I also enjoy listening to sermons while I knit. You can find lots of sermons HERE or HERE if you wish to listen to some too! Some of my favorite speakers are: Paul Washer, Voddie Baucham, Pastor Tim Conway, James White, RC Sproul and Kim Riddlebarger (I know I have mentioned some of these guys before...but sometimes I have new readers!). I am constantly trying to learn more and more. I am thankful for that desire that God placed in me.

The children spend many hours at play. I usually wait to sweep the floors until later afternoon....since one (or all) of the children are usually running in and out of the house multiple times a day!

Outside, my hosta are growing very well! I love how, when they are full-grown, they fill in this bit of garden...

Xavier, helping to rake up some leaves...

Jaxson...

Madelyn, showing a new skirt I found her...

 I have more photos and things to share about the past few days...but I will wait. No need to boggle down *one* post with a bazillion pictures (as I so often do). I hope you are enjoying your weekend! Thank-you for coming by for a visit with me today!

Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied,
Katy